Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors I've been thinking about selling my 7mm rem mag

Yes, or cut the damned barrel down!!!!!!! It's been on my mind and I'm reminded how much I don't like the 26" barrel every time I take it out. It's just too long. I love the cartridge and rifle and it shoots great. Would you cut it down to 22", 23" or 24" or just sell it?? Help a brother out... Here's the rifle in question:



Here is how it shoots. Slow plinking loads with RL22 powder (different charge wts/ developing loads):




Little faster loads with RL25:
]

[img]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x401/chiefbsa/012-18.jpg[/img]

I'm on the fence with this one. It's a 5 digit (I believe) classic stainless and is totally reliable, action is smooth as butter. Trigger is great at 2.5 pounds. What say you guys??

That POS shoots so poorly that I'd sell it.

Seriously, I'd leave it as is and slowly wear the barrel out by shooting tiny groups off the bench.

Man, seems like a great candidate to send over to JES and have made into something like the 7LRM or 7mm Mashburn Super Mag...

Honestly, I would chop two inches off of it BSA. 24" barrels work excellent with the 7mm Rem Mag. Mine is an older XTR and I actually get a little more speed with the same charges your showing with your 26.

My old 7mm Rem Mag is going to become my 7MSM soon though. I plan on sending JES the reamer, having him set the barrel back a thread to clean up the chamber/throat and start with something new.

I can't see ever being with a good 7mm Mag or two.

I had one just like it, cut it to 24" with no regrets.

24 inches is ideal for 7 mag I think.

I'd sell it unless you'd be replacing it with another in some .284 chambering. I'm betting that someone out there is looking for one just like that to turn into one of the larger 7's. If I were that person and you showed me those targets they'd seal the deal.

I'd sell it and buy a ticket to Africa.

Eric

If 2" shorter does it for you, then cut it. I wouldn't go shorter.

BSA, Sell the gun, a lot of 7 mag lovers out there plus I have followed you long enough to know you prob have your eyes on another! v best WinPoor

Ha ha, that's what my wife says. I do like the 7 and took my buck at 648 yards last year with this rifle. However, I could have made the same shot with my pre 64 270 fwt or my 300 wsm that I'm going to be throwing in a blue swirly next week. Hell, I could have made that shot with my 9.3x62mm shooting blemished 286gr. Nosler partitions. So I ask myself, do I really need the 7???. I appreciate all of your responses and input. Thanks guys.

Tempting

If I already owned those rifles I would keep that rifle and the 26" barrel length and dump the .270 and or .300WSM. The old Winchester doesn't have stainless barrel or composite stock (features nice to have in wet weather conditions) and most Walmarts don't carry .300WSM ammo.

I rebore that 7 mag out to a 358 Norma mag b

Chop to 24" and don't look back BSA. It'll be a great "hunting rifle" then.

Re-barreling it to .416 Remington Magnum would be even better. He could use 350grain spitzers on woodchucks or groundhogs and 400gr monolithic solids for elephants.

You have me confused with Gunner

I know you me and Bob were talking about this a while back. I'm kind of liking the idea. NYRifleman was talking to me about the 7MM LRM too. A mashburn super would be cool too...

Now your talking! I like where your heads at!

Super mashburn you say???? All the load data you need is in walla walla.....

Cut it...

That stock is beyond ugly. Get rid of it all.

How rude!

Rude, ignorant, pointless. Par for the course.

Just wait until he sees the stock I got from you today. He'll really be offended . Thanks again for that great stock. I'm going to be glass bedding it here in a few minutes. Wish me luck!!

Here's what you say:

"I love the cartridge and rifle and it shoots great.......totally reliable, action is smooth as butter. Trigger is great at 2.5 pounds.....took my buck at 648 yards last year with this rifle."

Why would you even consider selling it? New Haven isn't going to make any more of 'em! If you really have to, cut it to 24" before selling but be prepared to live with the possible consequences (velocity loss, accuracy?, value). I have 4 26" M70s, and yeah, they're long but to me they don't carry any different than a 24 incher. If I want a brush popper I grab something else, like my Ruger Alaskan. I'd do as my Granny would say, "Just don't you pay it no never mind" and go shoot tiny groups and critters a long way off.
Good luck in your quest!

You and your granny make a lot of sense

My granny always used to say "grab me another beer and bring me my cigarettes" when you decide to unload that thing let me know

Your granny really said that??

Ha! I like 79s granny better!

Alright, I cut the SOB down today and put an 11 degree crown on it. Well, I had my smith do it anyway. I'll run some 160gr. Nosler partitons downrange tomorrow and see how fast I can push them. I'm hoping the rifle still shoots like a house a fire too. Wish me luck!! Here's the rifle now:





Camera and pic still sucks, but oh well . I know it is just 2" shorter, but I didn't bang the end of the barrel on the safe when putting it in this time. Didn't hit it on the door jam when going into the house or leaving the shop either. I think I'll like it MUCH better!!!!!

Just can't leave well enough alone, can ya? (another granny quote) Hope it shoots as good as it feels now, or you'll be pissed!

Ha ha...

How about inexpensive fun gun like this one.......

[img:center]http:///img]

Twenty round back of Russian ammo at W-mart is $5.47.

Not my cup of tea..

If that was my only rifle I woulda cut it too. If not, I'd carry something else for the brush and save that one for clearcuts.

I loaded up some 160gr. Nosler partitions and some 162 A-max to do a velocity comparison and accuracy test. 26" vs. 24". We'll see how much was actually lost.

Looks much more "balanced" to me and I would be amazed if it doesn't shoot at least as good as it did previously.

Looks REAL good BSA!

Can't wait to hear how it shoot for you. I can't imagine you'll much of anything.

Thanks guys. It feels better to me. Now I need to lighten up the scope a bit!!! That long azzed Nikon could be replaced by a good ol Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 and it wouldn't hurt my feelings . I've been hearing some good things about the VX2 3-9x40 as well and even looked thru some at the new Cabela's store here in OR. I'm thinking something like that may round this package out nicely. I'm keeping it in the factory tuperware because it is nicely bedded and it feels good in the hands

A 3.5x10 would be a nice scope for that rifle.

Well, I'm not thinking about selling this rifle anymore. Just ran some 160gr. Partitions over the chrono and things looked great. Still able to get 3,030 fps with them and no pressure signs. The rifle feels much better to boot. The 7mm rem mag is a sweet heart to shoot as well. I think I'm going to keep the old girl..

Really good call. Nice rifle.

BSA, what was your load on the 160 NP?

Just ran some over the chrono. Wind was so bad that it blew my target stand over and the chrono was blown over once so I decided not to shoot targets. I wanted to see what my velocities would be as compared to before. Here are the numbers. Sorry I don't have any targets to share:

Before:

2-12-12
38 deg. F
70gr. RL 25
162 A-max

2,965 fps average velocity



Today:
Same load average velocity was 2,975 fps. It was 57 deg F today and I'm sure I was using a different lot# on the powder. I was actually surprised my average velocity was more today than before.

Here's how the 160gr. Partitions performed:

69gr. RL 25 @ 2,946 FPS

69.5gr. RL 25 @ 2,998 FPS

70gr. RL 25 @ 3,013 FPS

70.5gr. RL 25 @ 3,030 FPS

Didn't have any error readings on the chrono today, which actually surprised me. I also don't have any before speeds for the 160gr. Nosler partitions. Speeds look promising as I said in my earlier post. I'll shoot these loads to see which one is the most accurate the next time out. Honestly, there was no way to shoot targets today as my target stand and the wind were not cooperating!!!!!

70.0 RL 25 worked well in my 7 Mag as well.

I like the stuff. Seems to work great for the Hornady A-max and 162gr. BTSP. This rifle is a dang tack driver with the 162 btsp, I'm hoping it shoots the 160gr. Nosler partition reasonably well. I'll be stoked if the most accurate load is the 70.5gr. charge

When I was testing the 162 A-max a couple years ago, it seemed to shoot well at top speeds. I can't remember if I already posted this picture, but here it is again if I did:



It also shot very well with RL 22, but I couldn't get the speeds I was looking for. It seemed like the book loads were very anemic!!!!

That'll work!

My Rifles, Inc. 7 Mag loves 68.0 7828 SSC with the 160 Accubond.

I'm waiting for my smith to finish bedding a Classic Stainless into an Edge I picked up.

I have loads all set to go with both the 160 NP and 162 AMax with RL 22 and RL 25.

I've been wanting to try some good ol 7828, but I can't find it here locally. Is your classic barrel still 26" long? I'm actually amazed that it appears I didn't lose much if any by cutting this one down to 24". It is, however, noticeably handier. I'm used to 24" and 22" barreled rifles though. If you don't mind, could you post some pics of your rifle in the edge stock when you get it back from the smith.

My barrel is 24".

69.0 7828SSC shoots the 150 NBT into tiny groups as well.

I will be happy to post pics.

Thanks my friend.

Nice result, BSA. Better handling rifle with no real velocity loss sounds like a win win.

Eric

I know it sounds unbelievable. My smith even told me it would probably loose 80-100 fps. I'm really not seeing it though..

You know the chronograph supposed to be 12-16 feet from the muzzle not 1 foot

Ha ha...I always set it up at 15 feet away.. I think I'm going to try it again today...I want to shoot some targets!!

Just bought a different scope for the old girl. She'll be looking a little bit different by the end of the week... Shot pretty good today too, but it looks like the 69.5gr. load is the one it likes the most. I shot the A-max again just to see if the accuracy was still there with that load and it landed right around the moa mark so that's looking good. Next weekend, I may run the charge wt up a bit (I know it's over book max by a small amount) to see if I can find another accuracy node. If not, it looks like I'll be running the 160gr. Nosler partition at around 3,000 fps with this powder...Good enough for any buck or elk around here I guess

I did a lot of shooting today. I had to make sure my 300 wsm was still shooting well after the McMillan swap and bedding job:


I also shot the pre 64 model 70 30-06 fwt and it was the king of the hill for best accuracy today:


I really like how this one is set up. Seems to be liking it's new Micky stock too

160 accubonds

When I see some seconds on SPS, I'll pick some up and give them a try..

Stop being cheap

Ha ha. Yes, I am. You know anyone willing to sell some 7mm powerpoints real cheap?? ..I bought 750 30 cal 180gr. powerpoints from crod 1972 for $35.00/250 and I'm loving those in my 06. Even killed a buck with them last weekend..

Not unbelievable...

24" is the way to go for a carry weight 7 RM. Not a bit surprised to see in excess of 3000 fps with the 160 from a 24" barrel,and RL25 is a good choice in a 7 RM with bullets 150 gr and over. For that application it has replaced RL22 for me.

BSA you are on the right track!

Sounds like the big 7 is running well with the 160 PT's. Your right about elk not liking them at all either!

Same here for RL25, it has really done excellent in my old 7 as well, with the 150 Swift SII's and 160 AB's. It really shines with the 175 PT's. It'll get you up mighty close to 3K in most rifles.

Thanks Bob. It's weird, but I feel much better about this rifle now...

What's the weight on that 30-06 FWT in the new stock without scope?

6.9 pounds. The hunters compact and edge would make it quite a bit lighter. My 270 fwt is noticeably lighter with it's hunters compact standard fill stock. The 30-06 actually gained a few ounces by going to this swirly over the factory stock..

50 yrs from now someone going to say "some ass bubbafide this rifle" lol

It will still be working like a champ though... . Hell, they might even think it came from the custom shop

Do you know what the Edge 270 FWT weighs?

My 270 fwt is a standard fill, but it is lighter than this swirly. I was surprised the swirly is heavier than the factory wood stock. An edge stocked fwt should weigh about 6.4 pounds..

bsa: Said anther way you could sell all the others and just use the Big 7. Which to me is somewhat easier than dealing with multiple others.

I have a hard time casting aside a rifle with which I'd polished off an animal at 648 yards. Where l come from we call that a "money gun".

I would keep 26" barrel and the gun. The 7mm Remington is among the best all around cartridges for all north american game and ammo is available at most Walmarts.

My 30.06 Fwt (bare) in an Edge weighs exactly 6 lbs. 8 oz.

Thanks for the comments Bob. I agree with your philosophy, but that can also be said about many other cartridges, including the 270 win, 30-06, 338, 9.3x62mm, 300 mag etc. etc.. I'm definite;y keeping this rifle, as shortening the barrel made a substantial difference for the better. I put a better scope on it and look forward to shooting it this weekend..

23" gets my vote. Although I wouldn't go to the expense of cutting a 24", I would absolutely cut that 26", can't stand a rifle that long.